Month: May 2017

Having the spare capital to put 20 percent down on a home purchase is great, but it’s certainly not the norm. Still, many people think it is and that belief may be holding some would-be home buyers back, particularly young adults.

But now for the reality: The average down payment on a purchase mortgage was just 11 percent in 2016. And that’s just the average; often times down payments are much lower. For borrowers under the age of 35, the average down payment was just under 8 percent, according to NAR’s survey.

As such, “aspiring first-time buyers think it takes twice as much to buy a home than it really does,” writes Jonathan Smoke, realtor.com®’s chief economist, in his latest column.

How much a person truly needs for a down payment depends on their situation. Their financial circumstances, home location, and the price of the home are important factors.

But there are many mortgage options that offer the opportunity to make low or even no down payments. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture offer no-money down loans to those who are eligible. In 2016, 16 percent of buyers under the age of 35 put no money down on their home purchase.

Further, the largest share of loans for buyers under age 35 last year were for people putting down less than 5 percent on a home purchase (or about $3,500). The 3 percent down payment programs backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the 3.5 percent FHA mortgage that primarily targets first-time buyers, are both helpful programs to consider. These loan programs don’t require unblemished credit either. The average FICO score was 713, but realtor.com® notes borrowers with a 639 were still getting approved.

As such, Smoke says the millennial dreaming about homeownership needs to get this message: They need a FICO score of at least 639 and enough for a 5 percent down payment (that is, if they don’t qualify for the other programs with lower payment options). In that case, they’ll need to save about $3,500 to buy in the typical American town.

Home buyer demographics change slightly from year to year due to macroeconomic forces from the health of the economy to inflation to the global trade on oil prices. The National Association of REALTORS® recently released its 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report and the trend of purchasing up in home size has continued again this year.

First, in all regions of the country, the desire to own a home of one’s own continues to dominate as the top reason for purchasing a home, almost three times as much as any other reason to purchase. Nationally, the desire to purchase one’s own home was 31 percent of all buyers, followed by the desire for a larger home (10 percent), a job-related relocation or move (eight percent), and a change in family situation (eight percent). For first-time buyers, the desire to purchase one’s own home was 67 percent.

In five out of nine regions in the United States, buyers continued to trade up and buy bigger homes than last year. According to the 2016 report, 46 percent of all buyers traded up in the size of their home, up from 42 percent in 2015. In the 2015 report, buyers reported that they were looking for homes similar in size at 29 percent compared to 26 percent in 2016.

The top regions that continued to trade up in size were New England, East North Central, South Atlantic, Mountain, and Pacific. Interestingly, share of buyers that traded up in size in West North Central last year, in contrast, went back down to six percent in 2016 (similar to 2014) from 13 percent in 2015. The regions with the share of buyers that traded up in 2015 but fell slightly in 2016 include the Middle Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central.

While these regions where the share may have dropped a few percentage points, the desire for a larger home was still the second most frequently cited reason in almost every region. The only exceptions were in the West North Central that cited the desire to be closer to family, and the West South Central that cited a job relocation as the second most common reason to purchase a home.

One reason for this shift in purchasing power is that people have more equity from selling their previous homes in order to buy a bigger one. Since the housing downturn in 2010, many homes were worth less than their mortgages. Over the last several years, home prices have been rising. In 2014, 17 percent reported waiting or stalling to sell their home, which dropped to 13 percent in 2015 and again to 12 percent in 2016. Sellers also reported that they sold their homes for a median of $43,100 more than they purchased it, up from $40,000 in 2015 and $30,100 in 2014. The most common reason for selling a home in 2016 was that the home was too small at 18 percent, up from 16 percent in 2015.

The typical seller in 2016 was 54 years old (same as the last two years) and the median household income in 2015 was $100,700, down from $104,000 in 2014. Sellers aged 35 to 44 years were the largest age group to sell homes last year at 22 percent. We can speculate that the sellers probably had a child in the last few years and wanted a bigger home to expand their family. We also see the trend where repeat buyers have been able to sell their homes at a higher price in order to trade up and purchase larger homes. Sellers aged 55 to 64 also made up 22 percent of all sellers, possibly looking to downsize to a smaller home as they near retirement.

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WASHINGTON, DC – The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI) increased by 5.6 percentage points in February to 88.3, a new all-time high. Five of the six components that comprise the HPSI were up, and three hit record highs. The net share of Americans who reported that now is a good time to buy rose 11 percentage points, while the net share who believe that now is a good time to sell rose 7 percentage points. Consumers also demonstrated greater confidence about not losing their jobs, with the net share rising 9 percentage points. On net, the share of respondents reporting that their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago increased 4 percentage points. Additionally, more Americans expect home prices to go up, with the net share rising 3 percentage points. The net share of those who think mortgage rates will go down over the next 12 months remained unchanged for the third consecutive month.

“The latest post-election surge in optimism puts the HPSI at its highest level since its starting point in 2011. Millennials showed especially strong increases in job confidence and income gains, a necessary precursor for increased housing demand from first-time homebuyers,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “Preliminary research results from our team find that millennials are accelerating the rate at which they move out of their parents’ homes and form new households. However, continued slow supply growth implies continued strong price appreciation and affordability constraints facing millennials and first-time buyers in many markets.”

HOME PURCHASE SENTIMENT INDEX – COMPONENT HIGHLIGHTS

Fannie Mae’s 2017 Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) increased in February by 5.6 percentage points to 88.3. The HPSI is also up 5.6 percentage points compared with the same time last year.

The net share of Americans who say it is a good time to buy a house rose 11 percentage points to 40%, rebounding strongly from last month’s survey low.

The net percentage of those who say it is a good time to sell increased by 7 percentage points to 22%, reaching a new survey high.

The net share of Americans who say that home prices will go up increased by 3 percentage points in February to 45%.

The net share of those who say mortgage rates will go down over the next twelve months remained constant for the third consecutive month at -55%.

The net share of Americans who say they are not concerned about losing their job rose 9 percentage points to a new survey high of 78%.

The net share of Americans who say their household income is significantly higher than it was 12 months ago rose 4 percentage points to 19% in February, continuing the increase from January and reaching a new survey high.

ABOUT FANNIE MAE’S HOME PURCHASE SENTIMENT INDEX

The Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI) distills information about consumers’ home purchase sentiment from Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey® (NHS) into a single number. The HPSI reflects consumers’ current views and forward-looking expectations of housing market conditions and complements existing data sources to inform housing-related analysis and decision making. The HPSI is constructed from answers to six NHS questions that solicit consumers’ evaluations of housing market conditions and address topics that are related to their home purchase decisions. The questions ask consumers whether they think that it is a good or bad time to buy or to sell a house, what direction they expect home prices and mortgage interest rates to move, how concerned they are about losing their jobs, and whether their incomes are higher than they were a year earlier.

ABOUT FANNIE MAE’S NATIONAL HOUSING SURVEY

The most detailed consumer attitudinal survey of its kind, Fannie Mae’s National Housing Survey (NHS) polled 1,000 Americans via live telephone interview to assess their attitudes toward owning and renting a home, home and rental price changes, homeownership distress, the economy, household finances, and overall consumer confidence. Homeowners and renters are asked more than 100 questions used to track attitudinal shifts, six of which are used to construct the HPSI (findings are compared with the same survey conducted monthly beginning June 2010). As cell phones have become common and many households no longer have landline phones, the NHS contacts 60 percent of respondents via their cell phones (as of October 2014). For more information, please see the Technical Notes. Fannie Mae conducts this survey and shares monthly and quarterly results so that we may help industry partners and market participants target our collective efforts to stabilize the housing market in the near-term, and provide support in the future. The February 2017 National Housing Survey was conducted between February 1, 2017 and February 21, 2017. Most of the data collection occurred during the first two weeks of this period. Interviews were conducted by Penn Schoen Berland, in coordination with Fannie Mae.

DETAILED HPSI & NHS FINDINGS

For detailed findings from the February 2017 Home Purchase Sentiment Index and National Housing Survey, as well as a brief HPSI overview and detailed white paper, technical notes on the NHS methodology, and questions asked of respondents associated with each monthly indicator, please visit the Surveys page on fanniemae.com. Also available on the site are in-depth special topic studies, which provide a detailed assessment of combined data results from three monthly studies of NHS results.

You may need to do less convincing to get home shoppers to make their move in the housing market. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose 2.2 percentage points in April, with five of six components rising that measure confidence in buying, employment, household incomes, financing, and more.

The share of Americans who say now is a good time to buy rose 5 percentage points in April. However, the net share of those saying now is a good time to sell fell 5 percentage points, the index showed.

When thinking about purchasing a new home, it’s always a good idea to factor in the closing costs so you can properly plan and manage your finances. In general, you can expect to pay 2-5% of the purchase price in closing costs in addition to the down payment.

Total costs at closing can typically include the following:

◦ Down Payment 3.5% – 20% of the purchase price depending on a buyer’s qualifications and type of loan.

◦ Earnest Money Deposit (generally 3% of the purchase price) The money put down with a real estate purchase offer – it usually goes into an escrow account upon acceptance of the offer by the seller and is part of the buyer’s total closing costs and down payment.

I had to post this article the moment I read it. So timely – and allow me to add my Silicon Valley Realtor 2 cents in italics.

In competitive housing markets across the country, making an offer that sticks has become increasingly difficult. Ensure your client doesn’t make the process even tougher by succumbing to one of these common mistakes.

The Caton Team works with Sellers and Buyers up and down the San Francisco Peninsula. So we know – as a Seller’s Realtor – what we want to see in an offer and supporting documents which only aids us when we represent Buyers.

Delaying

“Time kills deals,” says Andrew Sandholm of BOND New York Properties in New York. “Dragging your feet means you could wind up paying more in a bidding war situation or missing out on the property altogether.” Buyers need to be ready with their paperwork, such as bank statements, a pre-approval letter, and documents supporting proof of funds, from the day they begin house-hunting mode. That way they can pounce quickly with an offer when they do find a home they like.

My goodness, this is the truth. In fact, in order to ensure my Buyers a smoother experience, I no longer show homes until the Buyer has been pre-approved. A Buyer MUST KNOW their own budget, how much they can afford, how much their lives cost BEFORE they start house hunting. Once we find a home, we must focus on THAT HOME and the disclosures package. When we sit down to write an offer, that is NOT the time to discuss budget. That’s the time to discuss the home, condition, inspections, disclosures and how much it is worth to you. To be frank – to be a successful Buyer in the Silicon Valley – a Buyer should have Under Writer Approval. That is what it takes to be a strong and successful Buyer in the Silicon Valley Real Estate Market. Curious what that means – give The Caton Team a call.

Making an offer for their preapproved amount

Smart buyers are getting preapproved to show a seller they’re financially able to purchase a home. However, Chuck Silverston, principal at Unlimited Sotheby’s International Realty in Brookline, Mass., warns buyers against using that document to come up with an offer amount.

“Many buyers come in with a preapproval for the exact offer price, but when you’re competing against other offers, including cash offers, you want to show financial strength,” Silverston says. “An exact preapproval could make a listing agent nervous because not only does the buyer not have any wiggle room to negotiate, but they might no longer qualify if interest rates rise.”

There was a time in our Real Estate Market that we would customize each lender approval letter with the offer price. It was a a way of not showing all your cards at once. For instance, you are approved for $3 million but your letter and offer says $2 million. Well when the Sellers Realtor lines up the offers and tries to determine financial strength – having no wiggle room in your lender letter will diminish your financial strength. And sadly, though my lender calls on behalf of my Buyers to each offer we write – many lenders do not call. I know this as my phone is radio silent on offer day – too bad more lenders don’t step up to the plate and offer wonderful customer service. But that is a whole other blog!

Submitting a lowball offer

Lowballing a seller often backfires, particularly in a seller’s market. “A lowball offer that isn’t backed up with math or comparable sales data is disrespectful and could turn off the seller and possibly mean you will miss out on the property completely,” Sandholm says.

From time to time, as a Seller’s Realtor – we’ll get these mysterious faxed in offers. (I joke, they are not faxed anymore) but you get my gist. They are awful offers, terribly written, and low. Too low. Insultingly low. As a Seller – don’t get offended. As a professional Realtor – The Caton Team knows how to handle these delicate situations.

Waiving inspection contingencies

“I don’t care whether it’s new construction or even your mom’s house you’re buying from her – get it inspected,” urges Joshua Jarvis of Jarvis Team Realty in Duluth, Ga. Further, if you waive the inspection contingency in your offer, you may lose the earnest money if you later back out of the deal.

Well, if you are a Buyer in the Silicon Valley – and you’ve written more than one offer – you have learned the hard way that contingencies are deal killers in a sellers market. If a Buyer is in a multiple offer situation – any contingency can and probably will throw you to the bottom of the stack. HOWEVER, The Caton Team understands what a Seller wants in their offer and we understand what the Buyer needs. The Caton Team has a great Buyer Strategy when these critical terms are at stake. Come sit down with us and we’ll discuss our distinctive Buying in Silicon Valley strategy.

Not presenting yourself well enough

In a seller’s market, buyers need to take steps to make sure they look good in the eyes of the seller. “In today’s highly competitive environment, the listing agent is trying to determine which buyer will be the easiest to deal with,” Silverston says. Buyers may want to avoid pointing out every defect, making nitpicky queries, or questioning the seller’s tastes.

“Basically buyers who act less than enthusiastic will see themselves at a competitive disadvantage when sellers are comparing multiple offers,” he says.

“The easiest to deal with”… Did you catch that phrase? When the Caton Team works with Sellers and reviews offers – we are looking for the best offer, with the best terms that WILL CLOSE ESCROW!. Taking a great – high offer – no contingencies blah blah blah – won’t matter a hill of beans if it does not close escrow.

What sets The Caton Team apart from other Realtors is our level of hustle. I don’t know another word for what I do when I represent a Buyer. I hustle. Ask my clients. Read my YELP reviews. I work hard. Finding a home is no longer my principle job as a Realtor. I know that sounds funny but with the internet and all the listings available online 24/7 – finding the home has become the Buyers Journey. But GETTING THE HOME – is what I do best. The Caton Team has exceptional negotiating skills. It starts with the first call to our fellow Realtor when we find the home, through the disclosure review, through the offer writing, through the offer presenting. Yes, The Caton Team still presents their offers. When possible we take the time to present the offer to the Sellers Agent, we ask questions before, during and after. If you have ever worked with us – you will know and see the difference in our level of service. Any agent can find a home, but The Caton Team will guide you on how to get the home YOU WANT!

What does that mean? Well you know – come sit down with The Caton Team and we’ll chat about it.